Martial arts icon Tony Jaa (Striking Rescue, Master Z: The Ip Man Legacy) is reuniting with fellow action stars Dan Chupong (Ong-Bak, Vengeance of Assassin) and Jeeja Yanin (Furious, Chocolate, Triple Threat) for a brand new, untitled martial arts project.
This news was first shared by the Panna Stunt Team, who teased the project by saying, “Your first look is here! Witness the ultimate reunion of Thailand’s action superstars.” This Thailand-based stunt company is named after the late Panna Rittikrai, the mastermind behind the legendary action of Jaa’s Ong-Bak and Tom-Yum-Goong.
🔥 Footnote: This untitled project marks Tony Jaa’s first film since news broke of his battle with gallbladder cancer. After reportedly undergoing successful treatment, looks like he’s back in business!
Whether this project turns out to be a full-length feature, a short film, or some kind of promotional piece, we’ll let you know.
For now, check out the Trailer below:
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G.O.A.T.
I’m so glad that Jeeja Yanin is making a comeback. I bet Jaa has something to prove.
I’m glad Tagalog has made a comeback!
Given his filmography as a whole do you think Tony Jaa lived up to the early promise we saw in the one two punch of Ong Bak and Tom Yum Goong? To me those movies were felt fresh in their execution and came at the exact right time. But when i look at the movies post Ong Bak 2 there’s a decline in quality. His career reminds me of Oasis, The Strokes and Interpol. Wow the world with your first 2 releases and then coast on that legacy for the rest of your career.
Jaa is an interesting case. While ‘Ong Bak’ and ‘Tom Yum Goong’ launched him as a star, I think it’s important to remember he’d already been working with Panna Rittikrai for more than 10 years when ‘Ong Bak’ came out in 2003, taking supporting roles in several of his low budget action flicks (many of which were re-packaged for DVD following the success of ‘Ong Bak’ in the mid-2000’s – I still remember the outrage from casual fans who picked them up, only to find they’d bought a no-budget, shot in a random village Thai flick from the mid-1990’s!).
The drama of his self-directed ‘Ong Bak 2/Ong Bak 3’ saga – walking off set and going missing, then his public breakdown on Thai TV – ultimately led to a falling out with the film studio Sahamongkol and director Prachya Pinkaew (who was supposed to direct him in ‘The Sword’), which effectively put an end to his career as a leading man in his own country. Much like iko Uwais, his roles in Hong Kong, China, and Hollywood have rarely utilised his talents to their full capacity in the time since (before the recent ‘Hidden Strike’, it was ‘SPL II: A Time for Consequences’ that probably showcased him best).
So from that perspective I wouldn’t call it coasting, but he definitely bit off more than he could chew by stepping into the directors chair which had lasting consequences, and I’m sure the passing of his mentor Panna Rittikrai just a few years after he stepped in to help Jaa finish ‘Ong Bak 3’ must have been a heavy blow as well.
Given the ravages of time, we’ve long since passed peak Tony Jaa. If only he’d gone to HK immediately after Ong Bak and Tom Yum Goong, he could have been the territory’s next big star, and helped revive the fortunes of HK action cinema. SPL II, in retrospect, was enormously significant – Max Zhang’s cold as ice warden, Wu Jing before Wolf Warrior 2 made him the biggest star in China, and Tony Jaa as a heroic police officer with mad skills. That final fight, with three of the greatest screen fighters of their era in their prime, choreographed by JC Stunt Team’s Nicky Li, is one for the ages, if only it weren’t being constantly intercut with scenes of Louis Koo overacting.
I found the recent Striking Rescue enjoyable, if pedestrian. I thought Tony Jaa’s acting left something to be desired – just let him act in Thai and come up with some reason why everyone can understand each other, instead of making him enunciate awkwardly in English.
In an alternate universe Tony Jaa moves to HK in the mid 2000s but unfortunately cos of a mixup ends up signing a 3 picture deal with Denis Law.
In 2006 we get Fatal Contact with Jaa instead of Wu Jing.
Same with 2008’s Fatal Move with Jaa being Sammo’s henchman instead of Wu.
Then we get Bad Blood in 2010 with Jaa replacing Andy On and Jeeja Yanin replacing Jiang Luxia as his silent bestie.
All 3 movies are critically panned even though they contain some brilliantly choreographed action scenes which results in Jaa going back to the well with Tom Yum Goong 2 anyway!!!
Thanks for the lore regarding the Ong Bak 2 and 3 era. I wasn’t as chronically online back then as I am now, so I had heard that Jaa suffered from some kind of breakdown during the production but didn’t realise it ended with him being blacklisted. In that regard calling it coasting isnt correct if Jaa was never given the opportunity again to be as awesome as he was with Ong Bak and TYG.
The simple fact is that Tony’s first 3/4 films were awesome , terrific films. Then quality declined exponentially. Delivery from Tony not good. After Ong-Bak 3’s huge disappointment , I gave up. I still think he’s a great martial artist. I’ll wait for Tony to shine again, after recent flops over many years
I follow a few of those stunt guys on instagram and they are quite talented and funny even though I don’t even know the Thai language. Definitely can’t wait to see what they dish out.
I think the language was Tagalog. lol
Was this directed by Christopher Nolan? 😜
Because of the Tagalog language?